Opinion: We’re at a turning point to recovery from a year of setbacks in women’s rights and gender equality
Why It Matters
In 2022, the rollback of women’s rights made headlines around the world and it was hard not to be disheartened by the feeling of the ground shifting under us. But as we mark International Women’s Day 2023, we see signs of stabilization and the emergence of new pathways to regain yesterday's losses and set ambitious goals for the coming year.
This story is published in partnership with CanWaCH.
In 2022, the rollback of women’s rights made headlines around the world and it was hard not to be disheartened by the feeling of the ground shifting under us. But as we mark International Women’s Day 2023, we see signs of stabilization and the emergence of new pathways to regain yesterday’s losses and set ambitious goals for the coming year.
What happened?
In 2022, protests in Iran sparked outrage around the world following the death of Mahsa Amini after she was arrested in breach of the country’s strict dress code. Women and girls are on the frontlines demanding justice and demanding change in a movement that has now sparked global support and signs of solidarity for this fight. Anyone working in gender equality needs to keep pushing for change at the highest levels long after the headlines and the trending topics on social media come to an end.
While some attacks on women’s rights were loud and bold, some attacks were slower, deliberate, calculated and rolled out over time. Throughout the past year, Afghan women and girls have experienced the rollback of their rights, including the removal of their right to a higher education. This preceded a ban on Afghan women from working for domestic and international non-governmental groups, reminding us of the crucial role civil society organizations play in the global struggle for women’s rights. Afghanistan is also in the midst of a humanitarian crisis with 19.7 million people regularly going to bed hungry. We know that when food is scarce, women and girls eat least and they eat last.
Compounding the issue, Canada has yet to provide an avenue for humanitarian agencies to continue their operations in Afghanistan.
Canadian organizations have called on the Government of Canada to carve out humanitarian exceptions to its sanctions regimes and criminal law to allow for aid to flow into the country and reach those who need it most – women and girls. This also points to important work that needs to be done to ensure that gender equality is prioritized in humanitarian action as funding to support women and girls in fragile states most impacted by disaster remains alarmingly low.
Of course, we can’t forget our neighbors to the south, where the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade last year, a case which guaranteed abortion rights in the country. It’s a setback that will see negative ramifications for women around the world. In previous years, access to reproductive rights was trending upwards with 37 countries liberalizing abortion laws since 2000. This progress must be protected and regained urgently. Access to safe abortion care is healthcare and a human right.
Globally, the United Nations Population Fund, in its State of World Population Report 2022, found that nearly half of all pregnancies throughout the world, totaling 121 million each year, are unintended. The report warns of profound impacts on societies, with over 60 percent of unintended pregnancies ending in abortion and with an estimated 45 percent of all abortions being unsafe, causing 5 to 13 percent of all maternal deaths.
Beacons of hope
In the face of these setbacks, and so many more, anyone working in gender equality cannot give up nor can we lose sight that Canada can make a difference as a steadfast leader in rights for women and girls and as a top global donor supporting sexual and reproductive health and rights.
And there are signs both here at home and around the world that 2023 has the potential to make up lost ground.
In February, the province of British Columbia became the first Canadian jurisdiction to provide prescription birth control at no cost to its residents. Advocates are calling this a ‘beacon of hope’ for the rest of Canada. A 2015 sexual health research survey conducted in B.C. by the Public Health Agency of Canada, the Canadian Institutes for Health Research and the Contraception and Abortion Research Team (CART) found that 40 percent of pregnancies were unintended. If contraception had been available to them, savings to the government would have been $27 million per year. B.C. is also working to expand access to contraceptives by enabling pharmacists to prescribe them.
Elsewhere in 2023, March welcomed the release of Germany’s new feminist foreign policy guidelines. The government’s new policy will prioritize the needs of women and girls in order to erase discrimination. The guidelines for the feminist development policy stipulate that more than 90 percent of new project funds must be directed to global projects that also advance gender equality, up from current estimates of 64 percent.
Here in Canada, we have a strong Feminist International Assistance Policy, the FIAP. Yet without stable, robust funding to support the feminist policy, its future is in peril. Canada’s feminist policy transformed aid by investing in programs with lawyers defending women’s rights in Honduras, supporting women journalists’ training in South Sudan and empowering refugee girls to go to school in Jordan.
That’s why 77 of Canadian leading international aid agencies, including CanWaCH and many of its members, united our voices in a letter to Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland calling on her to keep the government’s promise to increase international assistance contributions in the upcoming federal budget. The NGOs — with millions of Canadians supporting us — are united in calling on the Government of Canada to increase international aid beyond last year’s $8.15 billion envelope and commit to a predictable, three-year increase to reach $10 billion by 2025.
These investments are needed now more than ever. If we double down on efforts to advance the rights of women and girls and gender equality, then one day, hopefully, we can look back at 2022 as a blip. Evidence shows time and time again that when women thrive and reach their full potential, their families and communities thrive alongside them. Let’s make this a year that we can look back on as an example of how to correct the course rather than allowing the beginning of a downward trend.
When I ask if you have kept your commitment to gender equality there, I hope the answer is a resounding yes.
Tell us this made you smarter | Contact us | Report error
